tagged w/ Far East
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The spiritual chief of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cautioned the U.S. and Israel not to invasion Iranian nuclear features, saying that in this situation that Tehran would reply "with an metal fists.The spiritual chief of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cautioned the U.S. and Israel not... more
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Added On August 27, 2010
South Africans try to stop poachers who hunt valuable rhinos.
CNN's Diana Magnay reports.Added On August 27, 2010
South Africans try to stop poachers who hunt valuable... more
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Published only ten times between 1965 and 1971, “Aspen” billed itself as the first three-dimensional magazine. Most issues arrived in a notebook-size box stuffed with articles that had been printed individually rather than stapled together. But it was the nature of its contents that made “Aspen” magazine stand out like a ski lift in a cornfield. Each issue was as likely to hold postcards, posters and phonograph records as scholarly essays.
Among the magazine’s 235 contributors were many prominent figures on the 1960’s cultural landscape, including: Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, Samuel Beckett, William Burroughs, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsburg, John Cage, Philip Glass, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham, John Lennon, Marshall McLuhan, Yoko Ono, Lou Reed and Andy Warhol. As a paragon of creative publishing, "Aspen" was a true wonder. Its contents, however, are all but lost; few copies of Aspen have survived. In 1971, “Aspen” published its 10th and final issue, the “Asia Issue” that contained fifteen numbered items, no advertisements and no editorial credits.
This detailed article about Aspen's “Asian Issue” presents a number of beautiful vintage photographs of historic works of art from the Far East, as well as music audio and an audio tour of “Aspen”, the very first multimedia magazine in a box.Published only ten times between 1965 and 1971, “Aspen” billed itself as... more
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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are to go on a 10-day tour of the Far East despite concerns over the estimated £500,000 cost of the trip during the global credit crisis.
Clarence House officials said that ministers were anxious for the the trip to happen as it was vital to cement British relations in the Far East at a time of turmoil in the international markets.
The Duchess of Cornwall controversially will withdraw before the final leg of the trip to Indonesia because of the heat and humidity. The Prince of Wales will pay for the Duchess's return to Britain, on a scheduled aircraft, to ensure that there is no additional cost to the taxpayer. To save more money, the retinue accompanying the couple will be cut from an average figure of 20 to 15.
A Clarence House spokesman said: "The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are acutely aware of the costs of this visit. We have been in discussion with the government about the argument for the tour going ahead at the present time. Despite the costs, and the current economic situation, the government has confirmed that it wants this tour to go ahead given the strategic priorities this trip will address. Clearly the trip takes place against the backdrop of considerable international turmoil."The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are to go on a 10-day tour of the Far East... more
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"Negotiators from six nations agreed Saturday on steps to verify North Korea's nuclear disarmament, opening the final phase in tortuous efforts to rid the North of nuclear weapons.
The agreement, reached after three days of talks, requires North Korea to finish disabling its main nuclear facility by the end of October. Meanwhile the United States, China and the other three nations taking part would complete promised deliveries of fuel oil and other economic aid.
Beyond that, the envoys agreed to a robust verification team of experts who will visit North Korean nuclear facilities, review its documents and interview its technical experts, said a press communique read out by China's envoy, Wu Dawei, at the end of the meeting.
Some specifics of the verification remained to be worked out, but experts and diplomats from the six nations hoped to agree on those steps by early September, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.
"We would like the protocol to be reached within 45 days and secondly to begin verification within 45 days. We're anticipating that and we don't see any obstacles," Hill told reporters after the talks.
The agreement, if not yet complete, signals the start of the final phase of the yearslong on-again, off-again negotiations to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Beyond the October deadline for disabling North Korea's main facility at Yongbyon, the agreement did not set a timetable for full disarmament. But the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is believed to be eager to see North Korea disarmed before Bush leaves office in January.
Questions remain about how much of its nuclear programs North Korea disclosed in a declaration last month to the six-party group, which also includes Japan, Russia and South Korea. The North, which exploded a nuclear device in 2006, is believed by experts to have produced enough weapons-grade plutonium to make as many as 10 nuclear bombs, and the U.S. has accused Pyongyang of running a second weapons program based on uranium.
Before the latest talks, poor and energy-starved North Korea complained that other parties had only provided 40 percent of promised fuel aid equivalent to 1 million tons of oil under a February 2007 disarmament deal.
Saturday's agreement outlined specific steps to meet those promises. The United States and Russia pledged to provide the outstanding amount of heavy fuel by the end of October, while China and South Korea would work to sign agreements with North Korea on other assistance, the press statement said.
Japan — which has opted out of contributing because of lingering friction with North Korea over abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s — agreed to pitch in too "as soon as possible when the environment is in place."
The agreement also allows the nuclear inspectors to draw on the expertise of the International Atomic Energy Agency to help in verification.
Earlier Saturday, the U.S. envoy said negotiators wanted verification measures of the kind used in other countries.
"We're not asking for anything unusual. We're asking for things that are done all over the world. We want a basically standard kind of package on how you verify this type of nuclear program," Hill said.
In response to North Korea's nuclear declaration, the United States announced it would remove the country from a list of state sponsors of terrorism and relax some economic sanctions against it. Normally reclusive North Korea blew up the cooling tower at Yongbyon and allowed TV broadcasts of the event.
The steps paved the way for the resumption of the six-nation meetings in Beijing. Those talks had been on hold since last October.
The nuclear standoff began in late 2002 when the U.S. accused North Korea of seeking to secretly enrich uranium in violation of a 1994 disarmament deal."
By Henry Sanderson and Kwang-Tae Kim, Associated Press"Negotiators from six nations agreed Saturday on steps to verify North... more
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After six months of waiting, the North Korean government has given up its Nuclear data to China. It will detail the nations plutonium enrichment efforts.After six months of waiting, the North Korean government has given up its Nuclear data... more
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"North Korea on Friday blew up the cooling tower of its atomic reactor in a dramatic symbol of its commitment to nuclear disarmament, one day after handing over details of its atomic programmes.
TV footage showed the 30-metre (99-foot) tower engulfed in a huge cloud of smoke as a landmark piece of the country's nuclear history collapsed in ruins.
"It was a significant and very important step," US State Department official Sung Kim told a reporter at the scene. "As I saw it, it was a complete demolition."
The cooling tower at Yongbyon, 96 kilometres (60 miles) north of Pyongyang, was the most visible symbol of the communist state's decades-old pursuit of nuclear weapons. It produced the plutonium for a programme which culminated in a nuclear test in October 2006. Yongbyon had already been largely disabled under a six-party disarmament pact.
The demolition came a day after the North handed over a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear activities, a move expected to end the stalemate in the six party negotiations on disarming the poor and isolated state.
In response, US President George W. Bush announced he was partially lifting some Trading With The Enemy Act sanctions ..."
by Park Chan-Kyong"North Korea on Friday blew up the cooling tower of its atomic reactor in a... more
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Political relations have been tense and mistrustful.
China’s current president Hu Jintao has started a three-day visit to Japan that both countries hope will open an era of partnership in place of rivalry.Political relations have been tense and mistrustful.
China’s current president... more
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Britain's Tony Blair spoke at Depauw Univeristy on March 3, 2008. I was in the audience and I was astonished! He spoke of the center of gravity shifting eastward saying in ten, fifteen, twenty years, the world power will be a country in the far east, not the United States. Three Abdulah's sit on the board of directors of the world's largest bank. China and India are other countries that are progressing faster than the United States in many areas. Hard power alone-meaning the military, is not going to work ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now. Soft power, meaning diplomacy will have to be used. Now is the time to influence democracy on our neighbors or the window to do so will be gone. It's time to move beyond democrat and republican and be open to function in the rapidly changing world or lose our place, isolate ourselves and be closed to global engagement.Britain's Tony Blair spoke at Depauw Univeristy on March 3, 2008. I was in the... more
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